Cailean

by Brent Miller

  “What do you mean?” Cailean asked. Aldric knelt down in front of him, placing his hands on Cailean’s shoulders and gazing intently into his eyes.

  “Hunters will look for the quiet recluse. Werewolves wouldn’t want to risk any attention. I want you to break that expectation. Try out for sports, spend time in the spotlight. Work out with your friends and give them a reason that you look the way you do.”

  “I think I understand.”

  “You can handle this,” Aldric finished his speech, tapping Cailean’s shoulder as he stood.

  Cailean didn’t budge. Instead, he took a moment to process the flurry of information which had been thrown at him. The idea that there was an entire group of people who wanted to kill werewolves just because of what they were sounded outlandish to him. If his father said they were out there, though, that was enough for Cailean. Still, to be as observant as he thought they were seemed to be another feat. Cailean surmised, though, if a person were trained from their youth, they would likely be able to notice how different Cailean was.

  His mind raced, though, as he tried to work through the information. His father had implied that anyone at his new school could be a hunter. Suddenly, Cailean wasn’t just walking into a rite of passage, but a gauntlet. For some reason, that idea was invigorating. For the first time in his life, Cailean was going to be able to fight something for real. Even if it wasn’t an actual physical confrontation, every day was going to be a struggle.

  Reading the situation, Cailean knew that his father wouldn’t be very supportive of that mindset, so he kept it to himself. He didn’t want to give the impression that he wasn’t taking any of the new information seriously. It didn’t feel particularly applicable to him, though. Cailean wasn’t actually a werewolf, he was just the child of one.

  “Father,” he muttered unconfidently.

  “Yes?”

  “You say the hunters want to kill us just because of what we are, right?”

  “I don’t know their individual motivations, but yes, as a group, they intend to eradicate our species.”

  “But that’s the thing, Father. This is your species, right? Mom and I are just humans.”

  “That’s another story for another time,” Aldric replied sadly.

  “I’m old enough! I can hear it.”

  “That isn’t the question,” Aldric laughed, dropping back down to Cailean’s level. Shaking his head and sighing, Aldric was for the third time that day at a loss for words. Silently glaring, Cailean waited for his answers.

  “It’s not about you, son. Your mother’s is just a story that I’m not quite ready to tell yet.”

  “Fine, then what about me? Why can’t I be like you?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I want to be a wolf! Like you, Father.”

  “You’re growing up so fast,” Aldric sighed, gently placing a hand on Cailean’s cheek. Standing up, he turned and walked toward the wall. Cailean watched him, hoping there would be more to his response than that.

  “Your mother and I weren’t sure when to tell you about the hunters. We wanted to shield you from that truth for as long as possible. You deserved a childhood. The change will come, son. I wish I could stop it – because it’s not something to be jealous of.”

  Aldric turned back to face his son and continued his explanation. Cailean could hear a tone of sadness in his voice, but there was a fire in his eyes.

  “The beast consumes you. It’s all I’ve thought about for years. Suddenly, life is about hunters and the next change. It’s about survival. Once you see the world that way, there is no going back. So for as long as you can, Cailean, be a child. Go to school, make friends. Live, before living is all you can think about.”

  “I just want to be like you,” Cailean argued, trying to bite back the tears. Aldric turned away, facing the wall. Defeated, Cailean stood and walked toward the stairs. Just as he was about to climb them, Aldric spoke up.

  “Cailean,” he called. “You’re more like me than you’ll ever know.”

  Chapter 3

  Ten Years Ago

  Aldric

  Stumbling with each step, Cailean slowly made his way toward Aldric. Patiently, Aldric knelt on the floor a few feet away, beaming as he watched his son. He held his arms extended toward Cailean, encouraging him with every motion.

  “You can do it,” Aldric cheered as Cailean took another wobbly step. He looked up at Aldric with a smile and giggled. The lack of attention directly on his feet caused him to lose balance, though, and he fell backward. Dropping to the ground, Cailean appeared to be ready to burst into tears. Instead, though, determined as ever, he stood back on shaky legs. Watching his feet carefully this time, Cailean took another step.

  As he approached his father, his confidence seemed to grow. More steadily, Cailean continued his journey to his father’s open arms. Finally, when he was just within Aldric’s reach, he collapsed forward, trusting his father to catch him. Aldric moved his arms inward, intercepting Cailean as he toppled forward. Standing, he lifted Cailean over his head before bringing him back down.

  “Good job, son,” Aldric praised, gazing into Cailean’s eyes. His face clearly expressed a sense of pride and accomplishment. A proud father, Aldric couldn’t bring himself to stop smiling as he looked at his boy.

  Tearing his attention away from the baby in his arms, a loud knocking reverberated through the house. The joy in Aldric’s heart was quickly replaced with worry as he froze in place, staring toward the door. Silently, Linda approached him from the kitchen, reaching out and retrieving Cailean.

  With his guard raised and every sense on high alert, Aldric walked toward the door. Linda stayed back, cradling Cailean in attempt to keep him as quiet as possible. Where she stood, she was just out of view from someone at the front door. The two of them had rehearsed the procedure a dozen times, but Aldric was confident that it hadn’t been necessary. Linda was clever, and he trusted that she would sense the danger of any visitor. Regardless, as an engineer Aldric had learned the value of redundancy. Whether or not she was capable of improvising, it was best to have a procedure and a back-up plan.

  Cautiously, Aldric glanced through the peephole in the front door. Outside, he saw a family smiling in at him. Nothing about them seemed particularly off-putting. They were a young couple, probably no older than their mid-twenties. The man was clearly well-built, but it was possible that just meant that he was concerned about fitness. The woman wasn’t showing as much skin, and her clothes were a little baggier, so it wasn’t possible to gauge her level of musculature, but from what Aldric could see, she was active, at the very least. In her well-toned arms, she cradled an baby – a young girl in a pink dress.

  Aldric opened the door hesitantly, still refusing to completely trust these people. As he opened the door and was able to get a better look at the strangers, he only felt more uneasy. Aldric adopted a calm stance, relaxing his shoulders and sliding his hands into his pockets. Despite his appearance, though, he was on edge and ready for any attack the couple may throw.

  The two stood in his doorway with slightly too much confidence, and with posture that clearly seemed rehearsed. Aldric could sense a level of tension developing between the parties, but he pasted a smile on his face, acting as normal as he could. While it was possible that they were just a spry couple with good posture, Aldric felt that there was something beneath their kind smiles.

  “Hello,” the man greeted, extending a hand. “My name is James.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Aldric replied, giving a firm handshake by human standards. Looking at his visitor expectantly, Aldric waited for some explanation of why he stood on his doorstep. At the very least, he awaited further introductions. Instead James just stood smiling, holding onto Aldric’s hand for a full minute.

  “That’s enough of that,” Aldric finally broke the silence as he pulled his hand free. James held too tightly, clearly trying to gauge Aldric’s strength.

  “Sorry,” Jam
es stammered convincingly. “I was just distracted, I suppose. You have a beautiful home.”

  “I fancy myself a bit of a decorator,” Aldric lied, carefully avoiding any mention of his family. Of course there were plenty of people around town who knew him, so it was no secret that he didn’t live there alone. Nonetheless, he resolved to keep mention of them to a minimum – at least with new people.

  “This is my wife, Bree,” James introduced. The woman carefully shifted the baby to her left arm and shook Aldric’s hand with her right.

  “And this little girl,” James added, turning to face his daughter, “is Samantha.”

  “Pleasure to meet you Samantha,” Aldric greeted, softening his tone slightly.

  “Hi,” Samantha muttered without turning her eyes to Aldric. Bree held her daughter a little too tightly as she faked a smile. Aldric assumed the girl was at least two years old. If he were taking Cailean to meet strangers at that age, he wasn’t convinced that he’d be carrying him. That alone wasn’t enough to make him suspicious, but everything seemed just slightly off with the couple, and Aldric wanted the conversation to end.

  “We’re moving in a few doors down, and we just wanted to introduce ourselves to the neighbors,” James explained.

  “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Aldric Phoenix,” Aldric responded curtly.

  Bree attempted to discreetly look past him, probably searching the house for any sign of Linda. Aldric had no question that he was being overly cautious, but his paranoia had served him well thus far. Smoothly stepping to the side and leaning on the door, Aldric blocked her view into his home without sacrificing an appearance of comfort.

  “Maybe when we get more settled in, we could have you over?” James offered.

  “Keep me posted,” Aldric replied in a noncommittal manner.

  “Will do,” James added awkwardly. As if waiting for more conversation, he stood for another minute at the door. Finally, he accepted that Aldric wasn’t interested in continuing the exchange. Nodding, he turned and walked away.

  As they stepped off the porch, Aldric retreated into his house and closed the door. Watching through the peephole, he waited until he was confident they were out of earshot before heading back to his wife.

  “Did you have to be so cold?” Linda questioned.

  “There was something off about them.”

  “They seemed nice. I think you’re being paranoid.”

  “My paranoia keeps us alive.”

  “I know,” she sighed. “I trust you. It’s just hard to make friends.”

  “What? You want Cailean to have a playdate with Samantha?” Aldric teased.

  “Maybe,” she feigned offense.

  “We could go on double dates,” Aldric suggested.

  “I’m sure we have a lot in common with them,” Linda added.

  “I’m sorry, I have trouble with human connection. My father basically saw all humans as hunters, and he ingrained that into my mind.”

  “It’s been four hundred years.”

  “What can I say? Old habits die hard,” Aldric shrugged.

  “All I know is if you keep isolating yourself, it will start to get suspicious.”

  “I can invite them back,” Aldric offered.

  “I didn’t say it had to be them. They were weird.”

  Present

  Twelve Days until the Full Moon

  Cailean

  Finally, the first day of sixth grade had arrived. Cailean had barely slept the night before, and for the past hour he had been lying in bed anticipating the alarm. If he’d tried to get up earlier than it went off, he knew his parents would try to tell him that he needed his sleep. Resolving that the argument wasn’t worth it, he’d just rested. When the beeping radiated through the room, though, Cailean quickly pressed the button to silence it and jumped out of bed.

  Excitedly, he crossed off the day on his calendar, officially marking it as the end of summer vacation. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted from the kitchen, which only made Cailean more eager to get the day started. He quickly changed and raced toward the smell, meeting his mother at the stove.

  “It’s almost ready,” she told him, obviously sensing his overbearing enthusiasm.

  “You know what’s funny?” Cailean asked as he sat at the table, waiting as patiently as he could.

  “What?”

  “I’m pretty sure I will hate school in like, three days.”

  “Well, that’s pessimistic.”

  “I don’t know, I just don’t think I’ll meet anyone cool, you know? Still, I’m not a kid anymore.”

  “Okay,” Linda replied, exaggerating the word.

  “I’m not,” Cailean replied defensively. “Middle school is the turning point. That’s why it’s called middle school.”

  “I don’t think that’s accurate,” Linda teased.

  “You’re just jealous.”

  “Of being an adult?” She laughed. “Want to trade?”

  She placed a plate in front of Cailean and kissed his forehead.

  “You know you’ll always be my kid, right?”

  “Yeah,” Cailean admitted. “But the rest of the world will have to take me seriously.”

  “No they won’t,” Aldric interjected as he entered the room. Linda set another plate on the table before returning to prepare one for herself. The playful tone died down as Aldric sat down, his expression stone-cold. “Caring so much about whether they take you seriously is only going to make you seem more like a child.”

  Cailean stayed silent, looking down at his food as his mother sat down. Aldric’s harshness lingered in the air for a moment. His mother glared at his father, probably believing that he couldn’t notice.

  “I’m sorry,” Aldric sighed. “I suppose there are better times for life lessons.”

  As the three of them ate together, the heavy air slowly thinned. Cailean’s father was strict and often abrupt, but Cailean knew that it was just his way of expressing love. Aldric didn’t talk much about his past, but he’d told Cailean enough to give the impression that it wasn’t easy.

  Wrapping up breakfast, Cailean checked his watch. If he planned to make it to school without running at his top speed, he would have to leave soon. As the actual start time drew nearer, Cailean began to question his anticipation.

  “Well, I guess it’s time to go,” he stammered.

  “You’ll do great,” Linda comforted, kissing his head.

  Cailean stood to leave, but just as he reached the door, Aldric called to him.

  “Remember the rules, Cailean.”

  “Stand out, but not too much. Don’t tell the humans. I’ve got this, Father.”

  “I know you do,” Aldric approved, nodding with a smile.

  ❖ ❖ ❖

  Cailean approached his new school with awe. It was finally time for him to embrace a new life – a chance to start anew. For the first time, though, he began to feel vaguely intimidated by the new challenges he approached. The classes themselves would be simple, of that he was sure. The building itself, though, was frightening. At least twice the size of his previous school, this one sure housed far more secrets for him to learn.

  As he crossed the threshold, Cailean was almost surprised to find a regular entryway. A long line of students had formed, and it wrapped around the corner. Glancing at the front of the line, Cailean saw a few teachers handing out pieces of paper. With a sigh, he walked to the back of the line and waited. One of the many differences to which he’d have to adjust was the fact that he was expected to change rooms between classes. Another, apparently, was that he’d have to wait for things. In elementary school, he’d never seen such a long line – even at lunch.

  Impatiently tapping his foot, Cailean checked the clock on the wall. School was supposed to start ten minutes before, yet he still found himself waiting for a schedule. Though he questioned the efficiency of the system, he knew his complaints weren’t likely to be heard.

  “Last name?” One of the teacher
s, a young woman who couldn’t have worked there for more than a year, asked as soon as Cailean stepped up.

  “Phoenix,” Cailean responded, agitated. He knew that to be rude to her would be to misdirect his anger but standing in the hall was starting to bother him. All of the chatter surrounding him was overwhelming. Cailean could clearly hear every conversation. A group of boys talked about what sports they played, a girl complained about her mother’s refusal to let her wear makeup, and a dozen other groups complained about school starting too soon.

  “N through P was supposed to be in this line,” the other teacher reprimanded Cailean as she began digging through her pile of papers. This one was a much older woman, short and overweight with silver streaks through her hair.

  “Sorry, I guess I didn’t hear that,” Cailean apologized, glancing around for a missed sign. Although annoyed with the teacher’s tone, he tried his best to cover up his emotions.

  “You should have read the sign,” she groaned in response.

  “Well, no need to be rude about it,” Cailean muttered under his breath, stepping aside to let the student behind him speak with the younger teacher.

  “Good morning! Please pick up your schedules and proceed immediately to homeroom,” a voice blared over the loudspeaker. The noise screamed in Cailean’s ears, leaving a loud buzzing long after the speaker turned off. The conversations only grew louder as more children arrived and everyone began talking over one another. Cailean felt his stomach churning as he wondered how a group of children had managed to behave more maturely than the mob which surrounded him.

  “You’re going to have to pay better attention to directions,” the fat teacher scolded as she handed Cailean his schedule.

  “Well, then you ought to get better at giving them,” Cailean retorted, glaring at her. First, shock filled her eyes, quickly to be replaced by anger.

  “You will treat me with respect, Mr. Phoenix,” she spat.

  “No, I won’t. You don’t earn respect for being old. You earn it by giving others respect.”